Expert predicts escalation of tensions in Gaza Strip

The international community should adopt global solutions to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, otherwise the escalation of tensions over the Gaza Strip will regularly repeat, said Yelena Suponina, advisor to the director of the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies (RISS), in a conversation with TASS on Thursday.

"Such upticks of tensions will continue until the Palestinian issue is ultimately settled," the expert said. "In addition, the current escalation is taking place amid the underhand activities of the Americans, who are trying to establish dialogue between the Palestinians and Israelis. However, White House senior adviser Jared Kushner is failing and will hardly do anything in this area."

"The US’ attempts to monopolize the negotiation process are not just failing to bring positive results, but are deteriorating the situation all the more," the expert said. "Protests and attacks on Israel out of Palestinian territory have recently become a sign of the Arabs’ intolerance of the transferal of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in May by the US president."

That said, "Israel’s military backlash of any scale never helped solve the specified issue." "The Israelis are acting under the ‘grass mowing’ principle: they mow radical sprouts, but new ones appear on their place," Suponina pointed out. "This problem can be tackled only jointly, by the whole global community, exactly the way Russia insists, so it is necessary to join the efforts of the UN, Russia, the US and Europe."

She reiterated that the Gaza Strip is seeing "a very difficult humanitarian situation: unemployment there reaches about 60%, so this problem cannot be solved without solving economic issues."

According to latest reports, the Palestinian radicals have fired almost 200 missiles and mortar rounds targeting Israeli territory since Wednesday evening. The Israeli army responded with massive strikes on the military installations of the groups in the enclave, which killed three Palestinians, including a woman and her daughter.